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The bullish pillars of surging earnings growth and interest rate cuts remain in place to start the fourth quarter.

Even if there is healthy selling to recalibrate a slightly overheated market heading into Q3 earnings season in the middle of October, it should be bought up rather quickly.

This backdrop is why investors likely want to buy stocks in October and throughout Q4. Today, we explore how investors can use a Zacks screen to help find some of the best Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks out of a group of over 200 highly-ranked companies.  

Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks outperform the market in good and bad times. However, there are over 200 stocks that earn a Zacks Rank #1 at any given time.

Therefore, it’s helpful to understand how to apply filters to the Zacks Rank in order to narrow the list down to a more manageable and tradable set of stocks.

The Best "Strong Buy" Stock Screen Parameters

Clearly, there are only three items on this screen. But together, these three filters can result in some impressive returns.

• Zacks Rank equal to 1

Starting with a Zacks Rank #1 is often a strong jumping off point because it boasts an average annual return of roughly 24.4% per year since 1988.

• % Change (Q1) Est. over 4 Weeks greater than 0

Positive current quarter estimate revisions over the last four weeks.

• % Broker Rating Change over 4 Week equal to Top # 5

Top 5 stocks with the best average broker rating changes over the last four weeks.

This strategy comes loaded with the Research Wizard and is called bt_sow_filtered zacks rank5. It can be found in the SoW (Screen of the Week) folder.

Here is one of the five stocks that qualified for the Filtered Zacks Rank 5 strategy today…

Buy Soaring AI Data Center Infrastructure Stock STRL Now

Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL - Free Report) , as its name suggests, is a leading player in the U.S. infrastructure space, operating across three core businesses: E-Infrastructure, Transportation, and Building Solutions.

STRL is benefitting from the AI data center boom, reshoring, energy industry expansion, and beyond. The firm specializes in the first phase of construction, from site selection to planning and site prep. Sterling boasts that it can “scale to meet any size project.”

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

STRL’s E-Infrastructure division works directly with some of the fastest-growing areas of the economy, including AI data centers, e-commerce and distribution centers, and beyond. The Texas-headquartered firm has posted impressive revenue and GAAP earnings per share (EPS) growth over the past several years.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

The company posted a blockbuster beat-and-raise second quarter in early August. The AI data center infrastructure company grew its backlog by 24% YoY to close Q2 at $2 billion, as it lands “mission-critical projects, including data centers and manufacturing.”

Sterling’s EPS estimates for FY25 and FY26 climbed around 10% since its Q2 release to earn it a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and extend its impressive run of upward earnings revisions.

It is projected to grow its revenue by 7% in 2025 and 13% next year to reach $2.54 billion. Better yet, Sterling’s adjusted earnings are expected to expand by 57% this year and 15% in FY26 to reach $10.98 a share.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

STRL stock has skyrocketed 2,300% in the past five years as part of a much larger surge over the past 25 years, which included a rough stretch between 2006 and 2015.

The stock has pulled back a bit after hitting new all-time highs last week and reaching its most overbought RSI levels over the past year. Sterling is attempting to hold its ground at its 21-day moving average. On top of that, all four brokerage recommendations Zacks has for Sterling are “Strong Buys.”

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